The D’Entrecasteaux and Huon Collaboration’s mini conference was held on Friday the 28th of June and there was nothing ‘mini’ about it! Over 90 people came to listen to a broad range of talks, addressing waterway condition, nutrients, biodiversity, fish farming and management strategies in the D’Entrecasteaux and Huon region. Scientists, managers and professionals, Local and State government, industry stakeholders, and community groups attended. This included representatives from organisations such as such as the CSIRO, IMAS, State Government (EPA/MFB), TSGA, TSIC, and Aquenal, Kingborough Council, Huon Aquaculture, Taswater, Tassal, the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service, and pakana Services. Continue reading “Our Waterway Conference 2019”
News
More than 100 people clean-up the Bruny Island coast
The waterways of stunning Bruny Island are cleaner thanks to the 114 volunteers and the D’Entrecasteaux and Huon Collaboration (DHC) partners who joined a marine debris clean up event Saturday 25 May 2019, removing over 10 cubic metres of debris. Organised by the DHC, these annual clean-ups have removed more than 75 cubic metres of marine debris from southern Tasmania’s waters since 2016.
Continue reading “More than 100 people clean-up the Bruny Island coast”
A passion for maintaining the pristine state of the waterways
Marine debris is a major problem for marine ecosystems and the vibrant communities that depend on them. Six million tonnes of fishing gear is lost in the oceans each year, but old fishing gear isn’t even in the top ten most common items found during coastal clean-ups. Three-quarters of marine debris collected is plastic. When plastics enter the ocean, they become increasingly toxic and when plastic is ingested, these concentrated toxins can be delivered to animals and transferred up their food chains. But it’s not all bad news, the D’Entrecasteaux and Huon Collaboration is bringing people together to make a difference.
Continue reading “A passion for maintaining the pristine state of the waterways”
A partnership approach has helped report on the D’Entrecasteaux and Huon waterway
The D’Entrecasteaux Channel and Huon 2017 Report Card focuses on swimming and seafood safety, coastal and marine habitats, and climate, water quality and sediment health, nutrient inputs and sediments to better document changes in catchment conditions, so we can safely enjoy this incredible asset on our back doorstep.
Continue reading “A partnership approach has helped report on the D’Entrecasteaux and Huon waterway”
Wetlands
Wetlands are areas you might walk through every day but don’t ever really see. Next time you are walking your dog along the waters edge or find yourself at a river mouth have a look for marshes or swamps, large grasslands or succulent lawns. To the untrained eye this habitat can seem like a wasteland and has been treated as such. Coastal wetlands, however, are diverse and valuable to humans for the ecological services they provide and also to the incredible wildlife they support. Waterbirds, fish, amphibians, reptiles rely on them for refuge, roost, nest and feeding habitat. Aquatic plant species form a corridor for migration of birds and marine mammals.
Collaborating for our waterways
The D’Entrecasteaux and Huon waterways are shared-use waterways that host more Tasmanian recreational fishers and boaters than any other in Tasmania, and with thriving commercial operators and growing residential development it is critical that the area’s natural values are managed effectively.
In December 2015, an innovative partnership agreement was signed between industry, government and natural resource managers. The partnership provides a framework for collaboration to support and enhance natural diversity and improve the condition of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and Huon Estuary. Today, DHC partners convened at Tinderbox to renew their commitment to this ongoing partnership to 2020. Continue reading “Collaborating for our waterways”
Over 120 people join clean-up efforts on Bruny Island coastline
The beaches and waterways of beautiful Bruny Island are notably cleaner thanks to the efforts of the 124 volunteers who joined a marine debris clean up event on 18 August, removing over 10 cubic metres of debris. Organised by the D’Entrecasteaux and Huon Collaboration (DHC), these annual clean-ups have removed over 55 cubic metres of marine debris from southern Tasmania’s waters since 2016.
Continue reading “Over 120 people join clean-up efforts on Bruny Island coastline”
Community Clean Up at Charlottes Cove
This year’s marine debris clean up at Charlottes Cove in the Huon Valley brought together over 50 volunteers from the community who braved the cold and windy conditions to help remove over 5m3 of trash from our southern beaches.
Members of community groups and organisations such as Friends of Randall’s Bay Coastcare Group, Conservation Volunteers Australia, Kingborough Coastcare, Birdlife Tasmania, the Huon Valley Roamers Landcare Group, Parks and Wildlife Service, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, and Bruny Island Boat Club clambered over rocks and logs to fill dozens of bags with an assortment of rubbish. After collection, every piece of twine, bottle cap or cigarette butt was meticulously sorted to give us a better idea of what’s out there – and where it’s coming from.
Marine debris month
Over the month of May, the Huon and Channel communities came together to clean up beaches and foreshore areas in their regions.Clean-up sites included Dover, Alonnah to Simpsons Point on Bruny Island, Garden Island, and Randalls Bay to Nine Pin Point in the Huon Estuary.
More than 36 m3 of marine debris was collected over the course of this “Marine Debris Month”, and over 150 people were involved in a series of clean-up events. This included staff from Huon Aquaculture, Tassal Tasmanian Salmon, TasWater and NRM South, school students from Sacred Heart Primary School, Glen Huon Primary School and support from the Bookend Trust’s Coast Watchers program, volunteers from Conservation Volunteers Australia, Bruny Island Boat Club, Port Cygnet Landcare and Watercare Group, Friends of Randalls Bay Coastcare Group and the Huon Valley Roamers Landcare Group.
Our Waterway Conference
The D’Entrecasteaux and Huon Collaboration’s Mini-Conference was held on Tuesday the 30th of August and was a great success – in fact there was nothing ‘mini’ about the conference after all! A full house of attendees came to listen to talks on waterway condition, biodiversity and marine protection, seaweeds, gulls, marine mammals and coastal hazards. Have a listen to this snippet from ABC Radio’s Drive program with Louise Saunders here.